HELP: Stuck With Vista?

[setotitan]

Okay so I'm going on a business trip, and the company says they don't want me using my own laptop and gives me some crummy laptop from storage. They say I can do what I want to it, because when they get it back they're just going to wipe it. I have the misfortune of the OS they keep wiping it with being Windows Vista. In the short time I've had it I've already run into several annoying problems that's got me missing Windows 7.

My routes thus far have been trying to convince them to invest in Win7, to which they've responded "we're not spending any more money on that machine". So I thought about going down the dark alley route and just getting a pirated copy of Win7, since they were going to be wiping it anyway. However again, the company said I am their representative and running pirated software on company machines is a big no-no.

So I'm trying to figure out my options, I know they used to run a 90 trial of Win7 but that's long gone. I just need this computer to work for 30 days, is their any option that can legally get me upgraded from Vista to Win7 for that long? If it's a trial or tester and runs out after that period I don't care. Any ideas are welcome, thanks!

 

[Supertrucker]

you can use any copy of windows for 30 days before it requires activation, if you have a win 7 disc, just install it without a serial key and tell it you will activate manually at a later date. Windows allows this, gives you full updates and everything, so i assume its on the up and up since you dont have to trick anything. Technically, with a registry key you can do this for 6 to 12 months without a key, but that becomes questionable, since you have to mod the registry to make it last that long.

 

[merz.38]

Yikes! Ubuntu?

 

[neo668]

As Supertrucker pointed out. Make use of the 30-day (?) activation grace period. It's completely legal and above board.

 

[Knufire]

There's nothing in Microsoft's EULA about where you get the copy of Windows from. What you pay for when you buy Windows is the licence key.

That being said, downloading an ISO and using the 30 day grace-period, as far as I know, is completely legal.

http://www.computerworld.com/s/arti...will_run_120_days_for_free_Microsoft_confirms

 

[neo668]

Very interesting link, Knufire.

If you need to download an ISO you can get it from an official website.

http://www.windows7hacker.com/index.php/2009/11/download-retail-windows-7-iso-from-official-website/

 

[c627627]

30-day Windows 7 activation grace period can be extended up to three additional times — to a total of 120 days.

If you install Windows 7 and don't enter an installation key, the 30-day activation clock starts. To see how many days you have left, click on Start > Right click on Computer > Properties. At the bottom of the dialog under Windows Activation, you'll see the number of days left in your trial period.


When that number gets close to zero, you can extend the free period another 30 days [but only up to three additional times].


Start > All Programs > Accessories > Right click on Command Prompt > Run As Administrator > Enter your administrator password if asked >

Type the following command and press Enter, then Restart Windows 7:

slmgr -rearm